The Supreme Court on Monday appointed Justice Jaishree Thakur, a former Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, as an independent observer to oversee the voting process for the Chandigarh mayoral elections scheduled for January 30. 

The decision came in response to a plea by Chandigarh mayor and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kuldeep Kumar, who had approached the Court seeking a 'show of hands' voting method instead of a secret ballot. 

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh clarified that the Court had taken up the plea solely to ensure fair conduct of the elections by appointing an independent observer. 

With no objections raised by the State, the Court directed that the elections be held under the observer's supervision, with the entire process to be videographed.

Senior Advocate Gurminder Singh, representing Kuldeep Kumar, highlighted irregularities from the 2024 Chandigarh mayoral elections during last week’s proceedings. 

He recounted how Returning Officer (RO) Anil Masih had selectively defaced ballot papers to declare the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate as the winner. Following Kumar's legal challenge, the Court overturned the RO's declaration, ultimately recognizing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate as the rightful winner of the mayoral elections.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Gurminder Singh submitted that any former judge could be appointed as an observer. 

He further stated that Kumar approached the Supreme Court to prevent a recurrence of the controversy that marred last year’s mayoral elections. Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the Chandigarh Administration had no objection to the appointment of an independent observer.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta cautioned that "history may not be repeated every time." He also emphasized that the appointment of an observer in this case should not set a precedent for elections in other municipal bodies.